My HRM has hurt my feelings!

Kazzam33

Woohoo!! You're so much fitter than you thought you were! That's awesome :happy:

Yes, it's likely that your new HRM is more accurate than MFP because it does have more data available to it for making the calculations.

I would say that 334 cals for half an hour walk (what speed/pace?) and a half hour kettlebell session would be about right. Can you up the walk to a run for a few extra calories? Maybe move up a weight in the kettlebells?

It comes to us all when the workout that used to give us a massive burn no longer delivers. It does mean you get to up the intensity though which is kind of fun and you get to feel even fitter!

Good luck - it's a positive thing really (though I can see why you're a bit annoyed!)

Sadly I cant do any running at the moment. I've done something terrible to my hip. I thought it was my hip flexor to start with but after many stretches etc its still not responding. I thought I could just work through the pain but it only gets worse. I'm beginning to think it may be a stress fracture (I hope not) as its only pressure sensitive but I have full range of motion with no pain. It only hurts when I step weight on that side. Soooo walks are at a moderate pace 5-5.4km/h (3.1-3.3miles).

This is why I've been doing more resistance/strength work of late. I want to give my hip a break for a couple of months.

Kazzam33

The HRM is pointless to wear during your kettlebell routine (for calorie counts).

Please explain?

Kazzam33

So I decided to ramp it up a notch yesterday as well & did a 30min endurance kettlebell workout (no breaks & sooo many squats & lunges). My legs were jelly when I finished & I was drenched! Today I cant walk properly & going from a sitting to a standing position KILLS!! Total kj burned was only 976 (233cals). I've seen above that there are reasons why it might not be estimating the burn right regardless but unfortunately they didn't explain in detail so I'm still a bit bummed out. Maybe I just need to stop stressing & see how my weigh in on Sun goes.

I just like having a big burn so I can still eat ALL the foods! :sad:

h7463

I'm doing DVD workouts from Jillian Michaels like this. 30 minutes straight as cardio/weight circuit. I've worked my way up from a 8lbs to 15 lbs kettlebell, and I'm still 'only' burning between 180 and 250 calories on them after 2 years.
Heavy sweating has nothing to do with calorie burn....sadly.... if you want to notch up the intensity, you will have to do the squats and lunges lower and pick up the speed. That has been the only way to torch more fat.
On the UP side of all, since you use weights in this workout, your sore muscles will still burn calories while they heal and recover. There is just no way to measure it. Don't get your hopes up, it won't be enough for a cheat meal, but it will give you a bit wiggle room.
Good luck! Train safe!

Kazzam33

I'm doing DVD workouts from Jillian Michaels like this. 30 minutes straight as cardio/weight circuit. I've worked my way up from a 8lbs to 15 lbs kettlebell, and I'm still 'only' burning between 180 and 250 calories on them after 2 years.
Heavy sweating has nothing to do with calorie burn....sadly.... if you want to notch up the intensity, you will have to do the squats and lunges lower and pick up the speed. That has been the only way to torch more fat.
On the UP side of all, since you use weights in this workout, your sore muscles will still burn calories while they heal and recover. There is just no way to measure it. Don't get your hopes up, it won't be enough for a cheat meal, but it will give you a bit wiggle room.
Good luck! Train safe!

That's good info. So all my paining today will help with the burn as well. That's some good news.

Kevalicious99

Even though people here seem to think that HRM's are amazing machines and are just so right.

But .. from personal experience, I walked for about 3 hours and my HRM (Same Polar FT4) .. said I burned 1998 calories. But upon looking at the more likely situation .. it is probably closer to 600-700 cal burned.

So .. a difference of 1300 calories ?

This why I gave it to my sister .. :flowerforyou:

Really .. your HRM cannot tell calories burned, it is just someone's guess at how many calories you will burn based on your HR. This after all is ALL that the unit can actually truly measure. A math calculation .... nothing less / nothing more and is subject to much much error.

h7463

The HRM is pointless to wear during your kettlebell routine (for calorie counts).

Please explain?

Don't worry about this. This out of context remark doesn't apply to the cardio/weight circuit that you have been describing. Unlike a weight-lifting type of workout, where heavy weights are moved for fewer reps, with rest between sets, kettlebell swings incorporated into circuit training, will certainly burn calories, because you are non-stop killing it, heart rate through the roof.

h7463

Even though people here seem to think that HRM's are amazing machines and are just so right.

But .. from personal experience, I walked for about 3 hours and my HRM (Same Polar FT4) .. said I burned 1998 calories. But upon looking at the more likely situation .. it is probably closer to 600-700 cal burned.

So .. a difference of 1300 calories ?

This why I gave it to my sister .. :flowerforyou:

Really .. your HRM cannot tell calories burned, it is just someone's guess at how many calories you will burn based on your HR. This after all is ALL that the unit can actually truly measure. A math calculation .... nothing less / nothing more and is subject to much much error.

It always depends on what you want from this handy little computer. When I 'walk', then it's a power walk in the 5mph range. There is no casual conversation with a walking partner, because I will be huffing and puffing on top of my lungs. Not to mention the burn from my glutes being on fire. One hour will give me 500 calories torched, HR average 135, max160. If you're on a casual walk, then you have some extra calorie burn, compared to the burn that you can calculate from daily activities. For logging this walk, I would suggest, you subtract the daily activities from HRM reading to get you closer to reality.

In the end. however, all the numbers around here are estimates. Personally, I try not to beat myself up about it, and I'm enjoying the process. The HRM may not be as accurate as I would want it, but over the 2 years that I've been training with it, I can certainly see progress and consistency for me, personally. I think, in the end that's all that matters...

tarcotti

See, the opposite was true for me when I was using the HRM sensors on the gym equipment. I got my Polar FT7 expecting to have it tell me I wasn't burning what I thought I was but instead it told me I was burning more! But I think it's just because my HR gets so high because some days I really don't feel like I've burned what it says I have.
Granted, it is just an estimation and all my FT7 knows is my height, weight, gender, etc because I don't know how to measure the co2 output or whatever it is called and that is supposed to give you the most accurate calorie burn estimation.
However I wish I could take mine swimming.
160 minutes of a 'leisurely swim' comes in at over 1,000 calories burned, and I just know that can't be right.
::shakes fist at sky::
Curse you, inaccurate measurements of MFP!
I share in your frustration.

Me too! My Polar heart rate monitor says I'm burning a lot more than what MFP says. I'll trust Polar over MFP any day.

itsbasschick

i haven't found MFP to be particularly over-generous with burn - it's usually very close to my HRM. perhaps you're choosing higher intensity for your exercise - "very brisk": for your walks instead of moderate, or faster jogging speeds (8.6 instead of 6).

Kazzam33

i haven't found MFP to be particularly over-generous with burn - it's usually very close to my HRM. perhaps you're choosing higher intensity for your exercise - "very brisk": for your walks instead of moderate, or faster jogging speeds (8.6 instead of 6).

No I've done the calculations per kilometre so that part is correct for sure. I guess its just different for everyone.